Fires of War
by Spartan-259 Raphael
Summary: War is a thing of the past for the former ships of the Allied and Axis Powers. After the final victory under command of Eagle Unions' Admiral Raphael "Archangel" Martinez, they have been assigned a new task: Prepare Remnant for the increasingly lethal threat off Grimm, and more. This will be part story, part reaction story.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I decided to try my luck at another story-based crossover, I had been doing Reaction stuff and wanted to try my hand at something, well somewhat normal again I suppose. Recently I've been reading a lot of RWBY stuff, and I had been playing a lot of WW2 stuff, and well, Azur Lane and Kancolle are some of my most favorite franchises because I've always been a Naval geek.**

**Summary: The World War 3 and the Siren Wars are things of the past for the Shipgirls of Azur Lane. Victory under the Command of Eagle Unions' "Archangel", Admiral Raphael Martinez, has led them to a new purpose: Defend Remnant and her inhabitants from the ever-looming threat of Grimm. This will be partly canon, partly reaction, and have parts of new stuff as well.**

**Pairings: I plan to have some pairings, Arkos being one. I don't care if you don't like who I chose to be together, go argue about it on a forum.**

**Side Notes: (IMPORTANT) This will be a Story based/Reaction fic. Meaning that RWBY will be reacting to videos **_**on top of**_** actual real time events. Reactions will come less frequent as the story progresses however.**

**[Beta work done by CabooseHelpsU. Check him out!]**

**((That's all! Story START!))**

It was a relatively peaceful night in the city of Vale. The shattered moon sat in the sky, scarcely covered by clouds as citizens went about their peaceful lives. Some were chatting on the streets animatedly, others simply enjoying their meals. Everyone blended in, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

That, however, ended when a group of women entered the streets. One woman, towering over others with silvery hair, strolled at the head of the group.

USS Enterprise, Secretary and Flagship of the Allied Task Force.

"So, this is what a city looks like in this world? It looks...peaceful." She hummed, ignoring the strange looks she and her compatriots were getting from the citizenry.

"Yeah, it actually surprises me, how similar it is to a smaller city back in the States," said a dark-skinned woman, walking behind Enterprise as an escort. "Well, before the Siren Wars, at least. Back when cities _weren't_ bombed to bits."

"I certainly wouldn't mind coming here, on days off!" Her sister, trailing next to her, nodded emphatically.

"Remember the Admiral's rules, Miss California. No solo trips, even on leave." Phoenix reminded sternly, walking behind them. Helena was to her right, and walking behind them all was most smug Eagle destroyer in the Fleet, Sims.

"Yeah yeah Phoenix, I remember. I'm just saying, it could be fun!"

...

"Hey, Enterprise. Do you have any idea of what we are looking for at this point?" Asked Tennessee, eyeing the many citizens with caution. She was always more of a guard dog than her sister, though that suited her just fine.

They had arrived at an intersection, with several shops and stands that were still open for the night- another thing to get used to, for girls from a wartime country.

Closing her eyes, Enterprise nodded. "Yes, I've got aerial reconnaissance over the city now. Hopefully, we'll get in contact with this Headmaster that the Admiral said to find. From there, the rest of the plan falls into place."

Above, a trio of miniature SBD dive bombers scouted the city, sending the information to Enterprise. The best way she could describe it was like getting radioed a set of sensations, rather than just images, whenever she focuses.

...

When they walked past a crepe shop, the group resounded with a unanimous growl of stomachs.

"Hey Sims, was that you?" Phoenix asked the catlike destroyer.

"No, it most certainly wasn't!" The irate catgirl replied- and was interrupted by a resounding chorus of more growls.

The group looked at each other, then at Enterprise.

"...Fine, let's grab some food for you all." The leader said, shaking her head in faux-disappointment. "Might as well do it now."

She lined up at the Crepe stand, hoping that the limited currency Enterprise had was enough, while the others sat down at a nearby table. Two minutes of chatter and teasing amongst the shipgirls later, the carrier returned. 

"Sims," she said, passing the crepes to each girl, "Helena, Phoenix, California," At this, she got a cheer, "Tennessee," A simple nod of thanks, "and finally, myself!"

Together, they opened their mouths wide to take the first bite of a delectable treat they've had in ages; it was an adorable scene that had both men and women around them gasping, and-

A series of loud explosions filled the air, the windows of the parlors and shops vibrating at the intensity.

"CONTACT!" Enterprise shouted, years of combat experience taking over. They jumped to their feet, crepes forgotten on the ground.

From seemingly nowhere, strangely miniaturized naval rifles materialized upon the backs, arms and shoulders of the girls. Enterprise herself gripped her bow with precise ease as she launched a series of miniaturized aircraft. "Find out where that came from, watch the rooftops!"

As the carrier directed her aircraft in the direction of the explosions, the other girls formed a protective circle around the flagship, eyes peeled for any threats amidst the fleeing civilian population.

At last, Enterprise's planes found what they were after, a dozen city blocks away. Several strangely dressed figures were fighting near the dockyards. One, cloaked in red, attempted to decapitate a man in a white suit and bowler hat with- _a Scythe?!_\- only to be kicked to the side and blasted with what looked like an explosive cane cannon.

_So this is how people fight here, huh?_

Turning towards the battle, The Big E pointed. "There's fighting to the east, let's go everyone!"

Without another word, they sprinted at seemingly inhumane speeds from the area, leaving confused civilians and abandoned crepes alike.

**(Vale Dockyards-Less Than Five Minutes Later)**

"Isn't it past your bedtime, Red?!" Roman called out to the little Huntress on the ground, whose Aura was depleting rapidly. He was enjoying this, walking savilly like a suit and tie predator. Surrounding them were several hired goons, chuckling at the beatdown their boss was delivering. "Don't you know that there are _bad_ people out and about in the middle of the night?"

He fired yet another blast from his cane, explosive force throwing Ruby Rose to the ground.

"C'mon Red, just give up and _die_ already! I'll make it quick-" He fired, "-and painful!"- again and again.

The young Huntress' aura was nearly depleted, and the criminal was far too close for her to get up and dodge, let alone counterattack. With a dark chuckle, he raised his cane for the last shot. "Looks like you're not making back home to Grandma's house. Little Red~ Farewell!"

Enterprise decided that was enough. Her planes let loose with small but still deadly machineguns, tracers lighting up the night- and the target.

Torchwick, caught completely unawares, felt the impact across his back with a cry of pain. He leapt to the side, feeling the drain on his aura as the aircraft peppered him. It was at this time that Enterprise cursed, having been lulled into a sense of safety and not loading her scouts with heavier weapons and bombs.

Torchwick wouldn't know the difference though.

"Oh, what the hell-"

Again, he was interrupted, this time by a volley from California and Tennessee. The miniaturized High Explosive shells slammed into him, knocking him to the ground a dozen feet away. His Aura drained at critical rate as he slid a trench through the tiled ground, digging headfirst in a comical way.

"Sims, get in and help that child!" Enterprise ordered the speedy destroyer, redirecting her planes for another pass. Nocking another arrow of her Dauntlesses, she grinned to the others. "Everyone else? _Sic em!_"

"You heard her girls! Civilian lives are our primary objective!" Tennessee reloaded, her rigging around her waist. Aiming her equipment at the closest goon, she slammed her heel into the ground, digging in before firing a full volley at them. Nine miniature 14" high explosive shells impacted the ground of the goons. The explosion sent them through the air, landing against the shipping containers.

"Reloading!"

"For the Admiral!" California says with a gleeful smile as she, like her sister fired at the goons, knocking them out due to their auras.

Torchwick, now extremely annoyed with the newcomers, got up and fired back. "Why you...Take _this!_" The highly explosive dust round was fired straight and true, destined right for Enterprise's head. With a triumphant smirk, he watched as the Dust round homed in...only for the smirk to become abhorrent shock as Phoenix took the hit for their Flagship.

In a fantastically red explosion, Phoenix was thrown to the ground, sliding several feet. She rubbed her stomach with a groan, "Well, now we know that Dust really _does_ hurt!"

Helena, scanning the entire fight with her radar, fought the urge to help Phoenix up from the ground, as she was the rear line support, but was interrupted by the blip of a large, highly mobile objects in the sky. "Aircraft! And large ones, at that!"

She called to the team, getting a nod from Enterprise.

"Defensive AA Fire, protect the child!"

The smaller rounds bounced off the armor of the bullhead, but the flak was the true source of damage. Explosions threw the bullheads around but they stayed floating in the air as they began to fire on the shipgirls.

The girls that could use their dual purpose guns did so, letting loose with radio-fuzed flak shells, but the two brawling battleships added some fire of their own as they mauled the remaining goons.

"Woa~hahaha!" Sims laughed in her smug fashion, lithely sidestepping a Bullhead's strafing run. With her own AA guns, she blazed away. "Nana nana-na~, you missed~!"

Eventually the bullheads took enough damage, one crashing into the water behind them. The other crashing into the dust shipment. The third, however, had stayed away from the lethal barrage of flak, and swooped in at just the right moment to pick up Roman Torchwick.

"What is it with this town and crazy ladies?!" He asked rhetorically, clinging with haste onto the Bullhead.

Not caring that the other two Bullheads and their contents would be left behind, he banged twice on the vehicle. The pilot quickly maneuvered the Bullhead at full speed, disappearing into the night.

"...Damnit, they got away." Enterprise cursed, "Stand down, girls."

She hated it when her prey escaped, as they would always come back for a fight later on- this was true in both her fights against the Sakura Empire's super carriers _and_ the Sirens in their scheming plots. It was also the reason she, in turn, was feared as the Grey Ghost, as nicknamed by the Sakura Empire.

Holding out an arm, all but a few of her aircrafts landed onto the flight deck for servicing. The few remaining in the air would act as scouts for a few more hours, assuming the enemy would try and hit them at the opportune time- also something she experienced in the wars.

"Soooo, what now?" California asked. She had taken only minor hits from the hired goons, but there were some scratches in her clothing, and her hair was ruffled.

"Now, we wait. We've already called attention to ourselves, so there's no point in exerting any more effort to anonymity."

And with perfect timing, the young teenager in crimson- flanked by three more girls, all given unique color schemes- approached the warships.

They stopped a few feet away at a respectful distance, until Enterprise waved them closer.

"Hi, um… I wanted to thank you for helping us!" Ruby said awkwardly, the other three girls walking up behind her. "Oh um… my name is Ruby Rose." Awkwardly, she gestured for the others to introduce themselves. "This here is my team!"

"Yang Xiao Long, whazzup~" The berserker cheekily waved, wondering which puns would be safe for a first meeting.

"This girl is Blake Belladonna" Ruby continued, motioning to the silent faunus of the team.

"Hello," Blake said, simply giving them a nod.

"And lastly, we have Weiss Schnee!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Weiss curtsied, dipping her head politely.

"It's good to meet you all. My name is Enterprise, and this group of ladies here are Task Force One. I'm relieved that we could be of assistance." Returning her bow to her back, she fought the urge to ask why these four girls were taking on such a dangerous group of criminals in the middle of the night. It was not her business, she knew, so she motioned for the fleet to move out.

Ruby paused, getting a message from her scroll. Her eyes widened when she read the message. "Wait! Miss Enterprise!" She called, turning the heads of the shipgirls. "The… the Headmaster wants to meet with you!"

_That_ had the girls of Task Force One glancing questioningly at their leader. They had a schedule, but they certainly hadn't planned for such a sidetrack- or so everyone but Enterprise thought.

"It's most likely to thank you for assisting us," Blake added, mistaking the questioning looks for apprehension and fear.

"Should we…?" Tennessee asked her Flagship, who simply grinned triumphantly.

"Indeed we should." The veteran carrier said. "_Helena, contact Admiral Martinez, let him know that we've got our way into the Academies and can expect to move ahead of schedule_."

Responding to the internal radio broadcast- something others might mistake for telepathy- the light cruiser nodded. From that, she turned and placed a finger on her earpiece, contacting their Headquarters.

RWBY and Task Force One boarded the Bullhead that had just arrived, marked with the Beacon Academy insignia. The shipgirls shared unreadable glances as the aircraft lifted off, heading straight to the Academy.

...

"So what kind of weapon do you have?!" Ruby blurted out, unable to stand more than a minute of silence in their trip. "It looks like a bow, but seems much more complicated than that!"

Enterprise chuckled at the younger girl, who had gone starry-eyes in wonder as she zoomed all around the carrier- it was only because of Enterprise's experience fighting the Sirens with teleportation that she kept track of the eager Huntress.

With a head pat, she nodded. "Depending on what comes out of our little 'chat' with the headmaster," She subtly alluded at how it might or might not be a friendly one, "I'll be able to tell you all about my weaponry, and more!"

Unable to help herself, she gave the Red Huntress a pat on the head. '_Well, it seems that the Admiral's habits really do rub off onto me.'_

She and the girls of TF1 laughed at the hypersonic squeals of delight, while "BWY" could only facepalm at their "R's" antics.

"_Enterprise," _Helena's cool voice sounded in the grizzled carrier's head/radio,_ "the Admiral says he will arrive at the Academy by tomorrow morning, and that you are to act as his representative until then. Oh, and also said that he knows that you know that he trusts you." _

The carrier chuckled silently. "_Then I shall do my best to live up to his expectations. Like always._"

Enterprise made herself content watching the shattered moon of Remnant, nothing else occurring under it's pale light.

-_**Beacon Academy - 30 minutes later**_-

The six warships of Task Force one, as well as RWBY, walking just behind them, walked through the doors, stepping in to see the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and the de facto leader of the Kingdom. Mug on his desk and fingers interlaced, he looked at them with analytical eyes. From that glance alone, the shipgirls could see him for what he was... a veteran through and through. There were other occupants in the room- one was hidden to the unassuming eye, but Enterprise was more than the average woman.

Standing next to the desk, they assumed was Glynda, having gotten a rundown from the team they rode with. The true mystery was the figure hiding behind a pillar. Her radar could easily detect them, but that made her all the more wary.

California elbowed her, eyes telling her to '_not worry about it._'

The Headmaster, after gazing a bit longer, but finally spoke. "So, you must be the heroes that saved my students at the dockyard." Ozpin said, swirling his coffee. "I must say it's a pleasure to meet such fine heroes as yourself, and express my gratitude."

RWBY blushed sheepishly. Enterprise took this as her que, so she stepped forward.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Headmaster Ozpin. My name is Enterprise, my two larger escorts are Tennessee and California, and the others are Phoenix, Sims and Helena."

"So," Ozpin's voice became more professional, "with the pleasantries out of the way...let us begin."

"First and foremost I wish to thank you for what you have done. Saving my students and driving off the White fang is no small feat!" He swished his coffee with a smile. "Though I _do_ intend to find out just how exactly they got themselves into a position like that, it's nothing to worry about."

Team RWBY had the decency to look away, Yang and Ruby even whistling a tune.

Enterprise nodded, not quite smiling. "It's nothing to thank us for, Headmaster. Truthfully, we were walking around the city when we heard explosions. Given our background, we decided to investigate."

"And what _are_ you doing here, Miss Enterprise?" He asked, humming. His voice seemed merely genuinely curious, rather than in an 'evil Headmaster' maliciousness. The question was accentuated by the rhythmic tapping of his fingers on his desk.

'_I'll have to answer this carefully-'_

The opening of the door behind them interrupted her thoughts. With a crisp march of military boots, an impressively uniform man strode through. He wasn't alone, trailed by a woman in a similar uniform; crisp, white, and very much a professional bearing.

His jacket had nothing of indication, but Enterprise had a strong gut feeling that _this_ man was dangerous, should she face him on the battlefield. It was in his collected expression, his posture...and the rather large looking sidearm he carried, strapped in a holster.

It reminded her of the Admiral, when he got serious.

"Ah, General Ironwood… we weren't expecting you until tomorrow." Glynda hummed, checking her Scroll. The Shipgirls, hearing that he was indeed a high ranking officer, stood straighter and saluted, hands at their head showing respect for a possible superior.

Ironwood's poker face broke into surprise- he hadn't expected to find anyone with military discipline, not at Beacon and most certainly not from these strange women. He cleared his throat and returned their salutes. "As you were, ladies."

Smiling, he walked past them to his old friends.

"Glynda, it's good to see you." He said, smiling brightly. "Indeed, that was my plan, until news of these ladies here reached me, so I decided to see them with my own eyes. And so far," He leaned in quietly, "They don't disappoint."

Enterprise cleared her throat, and the other girls blushed at the praise. "Now, we are ready to begin?"

The leaders of Vale and Atlas nodded.

"Excellent. Firstly, my name is designated as CV-6 of the Yorktown class," She paused when the headmasters showed no reaction to the name, as she expected, "But you may call me Enterprise. Since we'll be allies from now on, know that I launch various aircraft from my flight deck, though it looks like I'm using a bow and arrow to non-shipgirls."

Ruby, cooing and aweing at the idea of such a warship, made a startling realization. "Wait...you sound as if you..._are_ the ship?"

Enterprise smiled. "To you, I am simply a woman, but my origins are more...different than you could possibly imagine. Would you believe that I was originally an actual ship of steel and oil?"

Silence ensued, and she continued.

"I was built by the Eagle Union to fight in the Second World War, and only through great luck, determination and skill did I live to be what I am today. I am, literally, the spirit of USS Enterprise given form through wonderous technology."

Everyone, RWBY _and_ the Headmasters' inner circle, looked like they wanted to ask more, be it _what_ technology, or if the Eagle Union would be a friend or foe. Finally, Glynda spoke, "And the other women with you are…"

"Yes," Enterprise decided to continue. "Each of the girls with me are the same as I. We are shipgirls given a second chance at life, and we fought against the Sirens, an ancient and powerful enemy. Ah, but it's a long story, and we wish to get to the next part of business, so please forgive me for not answering more."

"So I'm assuming the fight with the Sirens is over?" Asked Ozpin analytically, now invested in this woman's tale. After all, if these shipgirls could defeat an ancient enemy like the Sirens, could they win against the Grim as well?

"Long story short, yes. We defeated the most powerful Siren, a creature named to be 'Observer', and destroyed the rest of her fleet. Any Sirens left are in hiding. It was due to...other, circumstances that we were able to answer a call for aid here."

Glynda took this all in stride, nodding out of silent respect to this woman. Enterprise was a beauty of form and mind. Her body was obviously well built, and her muscles rippled and coiled like powerful machinery. There was no doubt in her mind that if she was a warship in her previous life.

"So, your forces were freed up from the struggle, giving you extra leeway on assisting us in our...time of need?" Ironwood asked, leaning forward with hands on chin.

"Correct. It was about a month after our victory when we were approached by someone. He asked us if we were willing to be the guardians of a new world of humans. After showing us an overview of the situation, my Admiral agreed. Naturally, we followed him without question." She said.

"Blind loyalty?" Ozpin asked, suddenly wary.

"No, Professor, that's not blind loyalty. It's not even faith. We simply have absolute trust in our Admiral; he's never led us astray before, and we'll do anything for him because we know he can't lead us wrong." She smiled softly.

"So, you're here to help us fight the Grimm then?" Ironwood asked, sitting down in a chair to Enterprise's nod. "Hmm, very good. Ozpin, can we station them here at the Academy for the moment? Centralizing forces will let us easily coordinate, and studying how they operate would give us the ability to plan future movements against the Grimm."

"We can. Miss Enterprise, why don't you alert your Admiral that we are more than willing to accommodate your needs? For now, you six can bunk with some of the student teams for the night, as we need to prepare a base of operations. Your Admiral can get the process started once he arrives. "

She nodded, and stood to leave. Ozpin turned to Ruby, "Miss Rose, perhaps you could convince your fellow classmates to take on an extra roommate or two? Extra beds will be provided."

"OHMYGOSH YES- I mean, _ahem,_ yes, we certainly can! Let me just, uh, go talk to them. Have a good night, Professor Ozpin!" Unable to contain her excitement, she and her team left to spread the news to JNPR. The adults stared bemusedly as they left, enjoying the enthusiasm of the Red Reaper.

"If that will be all, I have many tasks to take care of. By your leave, Professors, and you, General Ironwood." To the general, she saluted, and marched crisply on her heels out the door.

"...What are you thinking, Ozpin?" Ironwood asks as he watches the shipgirls leave, eyes no longer cheerful. His hard expression belied his 'full planning mode', dubbed 'Badass General Mode' jokingly by close associates. "This could be our chance. Despite the risk of having them around, we could end things once and for all."

"_If_ they are what they say to be," Glynda said shrewdly. "And there's no telling what they might do if-"

She cut off, for Ozpin had raised his hand in silence.

"I think we may have just been given the key to finally win this war…" The Headmaster said at last. "We simply need to maintain control of the key until we can open the lock."

(-Next Day-08:00-)

The dawning of the day afterwards brought little to the (relatively) peaceful campus grounds. This was, until a trio of Bullheads landed in front of the Academy- the spot that would yet host the battle (lover's spat) between Winter Schnee and Qrow Branwen.

Their passengers exited with varied expressions and outfits, chattering and pointing at the massively impressive buildings of Beacon Academy.

One figure in particular stood out- being the only male, on top of sporting a form fitting uniform. He wore black and gold, complementing his complexion and dark hair. His leanly muscular chest was plastered with medals, an officer's cap atop his head, and a ceremonial saber at his side.

The girls walking closest behind him were his personal escort for the mission, ineptly named Task Force Two- _Much to the chagrin of the Admiral, as his personal suggestions for names were always stoutly rejected._

The girls of TF2 were touted the Best of the Best among the Ironblood, and masters of defensive action required for protecting their Admiral; Bismarck and Tirpitz for raw power, matched only by Graf Zeppelin's fast planes' extreme levels of ruthless precision. Next came the seductive Prinz Eugen for strategy and innocent looking Graf Spee for tactics. Bringing up the rear was the versatile Z23, the teenage looking destroyer.

Together, they were the powerhouses of the Ironblood's small but dedicated navy. They certainly showed it in their posture.

Walking to meet them was Enterprise, leading Task Force 1. She saluted, "It's good to see you are safe, Admiral. I missed you!" She then kissed the Admiral on the cheek, much to the halfhearted glares of the other Ironblood girls, and whistles of Task Force 1.

"Have you been taking care of our Admiral, Ironblood dog?" Tennessee asked, swaggering up the KMS Bismarck. "I was worried you might not be able to actually take care of him."

Not one to step down from the challenge, Bismarck squared off with a smirk. "We Ironbloods are far more adept at taking care of him than you could ever be." Gripping her spear lazily, the Ironblood stared at the smaller battleship. "After all, despite your retrofits, you're still the same antiquated battleship I was able to counter from birth!"

Absently thumbing his wedding ring, the Admiral decided that this would be far enough. "It's good to see you too love…" he muttered, then spoke more loudly, "Come, introduce me to our new benefactors. It's time I met them myself."

He and the twelve strong escort fleet moved across the school grounds, ignoring the attention of the bystanding students and teachers alike.

The Admiral's mind was on far more concerning matters.

(-Ozpin's office-)

Atop the clocktower of Beacon, the gears, cogs, and weights moved in tandem, a barely contained chaos that implied a sense of timelessness.

It was the sound of a gong that greeted Admiral Raphael Martinez, nicknamed the 'ArchAngel' of Azur Lane for his role in...just about everything involving the maritime organization.

Admiral Martinez, or 'Just Raphael' he often insisted, gave a hum of appreciation as he walked in Ozpin's office. He took a moment to enjoy the mechanical aethstetics of a madman, if not a genius.

Only the Flagships of his two Task Forces followed him here, Bismarck and Enterprise. "Greetings, Headmaster Ozpin, I've looked forward to this!" He warmly clasped Ozpin's hands in both his own, vigorously shaking up and down.

"Oh, and the terrifyingly lovely Miss Goodwitch! Just as I expected!" He exclaimed, as if examining a species of a rare predator. To her credit, Glynda managed to hide her recoil at this, not sure if he complimented or insulted her.

Fortunately for her, he moved on. With a sudden bout of faux seriousness, he turned to the fellow soldier in the room, and saluted. He then ruined the solemnity, "Ahah, and General "Jimmy" James Ironwood, it's a pleasure, an absolute pleasure I say!"

"It's a... pleasure, to meet you, Admiral Martinez." Ozpin said with a strained smile, "Your companions hold you in high regard." The Headmaster then took a sip of coffee to make sure he wasn't hallucinating the sudden change in the man's hardened eyes.

"Indeed, and as I do them as well."

There was a brief lull in the silence, interceded only with the rhythmic '_tick tick tick_' from Ozpin's tower.

Ironwood spoke next, "I look forward to seeing what your troops can do, Admiral. From one commander to a next, I'm sure you have quite a few talented people under your command."

"Indeed, I'll be able to provide you with a full dossier of all the forces available. As I'm sure you're aware, not all of my girls are here right now." Raphael said, handing over a storage chip with large amounts of data. "Rather than explain the capabilities in person, this data file will have everything you need to know. To start, the girls are divided into generic ship types; Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Heavy cruiser, Battleship, and Aircraft Carrier. Simply sort through that as you find time."

Ironwood nodded, more than familiar with the capabilities of his own fleets, both air and sea faring. He took the chip into his scroll, as he was eager to see what this newcomer force was made of.

They waited for the Admiral to say more, but he simply stared back at them with a dopey expression.

Ozpin broke the awkward silence, setting his coffee down and folding his fingers together.

"If I may ask, What do you plan to do now that you're here?"

The Admiral hummed, tilting his head.

"For now, not much. Assuming there are Grimm in the area, we could take the load off your huntsmen. Or, perhaps help here, at the Academy? Hmm, what to do~"

_Not a bad idea,_ Ozpin thought. _Keep him here and contained until we can gauge him fully. And, there's a _perfect_ role for them to fill._

"Admiral, how would you and your girls feel about taking up teaching, for the time being?"

Ironwood, Winter, and even Glynda looked shocked at the Headmaster; the young students were the pride and joy of Ozpin's work, and he would willingly offer them to the strange and foreign newcomers?

Admiral Martinez gave a cheshire grin, "That is a wonderful idea. It just so happens that many of my girls have experience in Academies, be it as teachers _or _students.

"Indeed, I'm sure they might offer many insights to combating the constant threat of Grimm. So," Ozpin paused, "I take it as a yes?"

The Admiral nodded.

"Excellent. Then there should be no problem then. Miss Goodwitch, if would be so kind as to arrange extra classes, perhaps as extra credit? Work with the good Admiral here to put curriculum together, if you would."

Glynda, who was visibly fighting to keep her frustration to herself, sighed. "Very well. Admiral, I expect it to be ready by this evening." She tapped her riding crop in her palm to accentuate the _'or else_' threat.

Raphael merely wagged his eyebrows at how soon it was to be.

"Oh, you mean _this _curriculum?" He asked, placing yet another data chip onto the desk. "I took the liberty ahead of time to compile a collection of my favorite lessons, along with extras from my adjutants. Essentially, lessons taken from our own experience, in which we can divide the strategy, tactics, and ethics of combat." 

The leaders of Beacon and Atlas nodded. From what they had gathered, Admiral Martinez' force, "Azur Lane", had just finished fighting not one, but two world wars- no doubt, they were a wealth of knowledge and technology.

Ozpin sipped more coffee.

"Admiral Martinez, I look forward to working with you," Ironwood said, getting up and offering a hand shake. "But, I now have duties elsewhere that I've been putting off."

They shook, and Winter followed up with an appreciative nod- she had remained almost completely silent, watching the newcomer interact with her boss, preparing for the worse.

"_He is most certainly an intriguing man, even if he does act strange…"_ Winter thought.

As if reading her mind, the Admiral smiled dashingly. "It is a pleasure to meet such a cold beauty like yourself, ma'am."

He topped it off with a rather cheesy bow. Behind Ozpin cleared his throat- suppressing his own smile. The Special Operative fought down the blush...and the urge to slap him. She managed, and cooly nodded back as she followed Ironwood out.

"Well, this meeting might as well adjourn for now. I thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Headmaster, Miss Goodwitch, Ironwood. I will be around should you need anything, and I must go now. Who knows what my girls are up to?" 

All too familiar with the antics of young energetic women, the two leaders of Beacon acquiesced. "Your "Task Force One" has been guided the building they selected as your center of operations. We can also arrange for an official tour of the Academy, with particular focus on the teaching facilities."

He was, of course, referring to the classrooms, cafeteria, a workout gym, and the weaponry workshop used by students to craft and perfect their weaponry.

Admiral Martinez smiled, and shook Ozpin's hand again.

"So…" he said with a sly grin, "I'd guess that class will start this evening?"

Ozpin matched the grin, "Indeed, it's quite simple to prepare students for you."

Raphael's expression was puzzled, then he realized why. "Oh. Ooooh, I see! The power of extra credit is not to be underestimated, in both my world and this!"

"Indeed. A lecture room has been provided, and I'll leave it to you from there. Oh, and expect myself and a few other...guests, to listen in." They shook hands, and nodded.

"It will be a pleasure to work with you." Raphael said, eyes glinting with seriousness. "However long a war lasts, I've found that bonds of teamwork and trust will get you through."

_Doesn't mean they can't try to outmaneuver each other, as they had multiple times just now. Why put something valuable into the pot if you don't think you can't win?_

With that, he left to find his ships.

_Much to do, so little time. Just as I want it._

.

**(-Story end-)**

**I will be taking suggestions, critiques and the like so please by all means, put them down below and I can promise I will take them into consideration. That does not mean however to send in hate! I will ignore it, I can promise you that. Also I would like to thank Rinter 215 for the inspiration. [AND CabooseHelpsU for slogging through it and building a proper foundation for the overall story, as well as preparing the direction of this fic to fit in.]**

**Important topics:**

**Pairings: Bumblebee will be a definite thing; I love this pairing, and the chemistry between the two is nice [Caboose: Cough cough RWBY-Chibi-shipteases cough cough!]**

**Power Scale: The shipgirls are very strong, but don't worry. As you could see, Aura users are rather versatile and adaptive, and that only gets more so as the seasons go on. **

**PLEASE REVIEW, IT GIVES ME THE MOTIVATION TO KEEP GOING! **

_**Editor Note: You can thank me, Caboose, for the delay of chapter 3. After a read through of chapter 1 and 2 (and subsequent fixing of Chapter two), we decided to completely revamp the first chapter to build up the later story. We also suggest reading the "Watching the Multiverse Unfold" fic, and vice versa- THEY ARE CONNECTED. That said, Enjoy!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: War is a thing of the past for the former ships of the Allied and Axis Powers. After the final victory under command of Eagle Unions' Admiral Raphael "Archangel" Martinez, they have been assigned a new task: Prepare Remnant for the increasingly lethal threat off Grimm, and more. This will be part story, part reaction story.**

**((That's all! Story START!))**

**[Beta work by CabooseHelpsU]**

"So, it went well then?" Asked California, humming with her hands behind her head. Raphael grinned at her question, recounting how the meeting had played out. The other ships of the fleet were standing around him, separated in a loose circle grouped in Task Forces.

"They are willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, even going so far as to lend us materials, money, and housing. But," he emphasized, "Keep in mind that they don't necessarily trust us. Keeping our base of operations in such close proximity lets them keep an eye on us."

He snorted, "I don't particularly care, as I have nothing to hide and likely never will."

This, however, got a curious look from Enterprise.

"What makes you say that?" Enterprise asked with an interesting look on her face. "They seemed very forthcoming to me, especially Ozpin. Why _else_ would he just accept us as teachers, despite not having proof of our skills or combat experience?"

Seeing that even Enterprise, one of the most experienced shipgirls in his fleet, had only picked up on the conversation at face value, the Admiral smirked. The undercurrents between them and those three _very_ powerful individuals was much deeper than the seemingly blind acceptance they had been met with- including being allowed to interact with precious students as closely as they had.

He motioned for the girls to follow him, and they soon found the building with the right number- their new 'home'.

It was on the edge of the 'campus', overlooking the expansive forest below. The building itself was only three floors, dotted with smaller windows- what the members of Azur Lane assumed to be the dorm rooms. The top floor, though, was most likely the offices, offering a view of stunning clarity over the entire 'school'.

"You see, with how forward they were, it's clear that they had discussed their game plan before we met- Enterprise, you saw General Ironwood and how he naturally stood. He's an accomplished soldier, and you don't get to that point without learning who and who _not_ to trust, right?"

Enterprise nodded, and Raphael continued. "Furthermore, I did some research beforehand. Tell me, girls, how do you suppose that a mere 'Headmaster' of a school can control an entire country? Not to mention his companion Miss Goodwitch, with her obvious use of authority?" They fell into silence as he waited for them to answer.

Finally, it was Tirpitz who spoke up, "It's because they plan to use us, and gather as much of an advantage to control us as they can. We freely gave them information about us shipgirls, however vague it was, as a sign of willingness to be used. We acknowledged that we were in their court, as the Eagle Union would say, and despite that, we are still willing to play. Right, Admiral Martinez?"

She looked over at the Admiral, whose smirk widened.

"Precisely, Tirpitz. As expected of the pride of the Ironbloods. _And_ a Promised, at that!"

He chuckled, predicting what would come next. _'Three, two, one…'_

Tirpitz froze, red in the face as her mind tried to reboot. Then, she recovered, "Why, _thank_ you, Admiral!"

As one, the Eagle Union ships leveled looks at him; flustered sounds, tongues in cheeks, and in Enterprise's case, a fearsome glare, were all directed at him.

They were fake, of course, and something he was entirely used to by now. The girls- _his_ girls, were long past the jealousy stage.

This was what reminded him to remain cheerful, the witty banter and faux teasing supporting him and his girls through even the darkest of the Siren Wars. It was what had united shipgirls from all across the world, no matter the conflicts between their countries, and it was the bond of their large, seemingly dysfunctional family.

With a pat on the tall Ironblood battleship's head, he moved towards the building's entrance. "Now then," he said over his shoulder, motioning them forward, "Let's get to work, shall we?"

(-Class Area-)

Admiral Raphael Martinez hummed, drinking in the scene before him.

He, along with Hood, Z23, and Tirpitz, was standing at the front of a small auditorium, backed by an electronic chalkboard, and facing rows of chairs and desks. With dimmed lights in the background, he would soon be the center of attention for dozens of young, impressionable minds. _Hopefully_ undivided, lest he has no choice but resort to more _physical_ measures to get their attention.

In one arm was a tablet, which he idly scrolled through, and in the other, a plate of cookies delivered with a glittery note, courtesy of the youngest Huntress-in-training, Ruby Rose.

Behind him, Hood and Tirpitz were discussing their lesson plan- They and the other, more experienced girls, would split lessons between small unit tactics, overall strategies, and Close Quarters Combat, to name a few. Taught specifically by Enterprise would be advanced lessons in night/stealth abilities, although how well that integrated into a Huntsman's abilities remained to be seen.

Belfast was also contemplating the idea of lessons on "etiquette", seeing that the most successful of Huntsmen might eventually delve into the realm of politics, espionage, and the likes, but Ms. Goodwitch still needed to get back to her.

He and his Promised watched with curious anticipation as the first few students began to walk into the new class. Unsurprisingly, Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch were already nestled into the back corner, along with General Ironwood and what Raphael assumed to be an aide, white-haired and wearing a matching military uniform.

'_This would certainly be interesting_' He mused. Not that he minded their presence, of course.

Tirpitz continued to stare the students pile in before settling into their seats. They were all so young. Both, however, thought of their own crews, 19, 18, and even younger than 17-year-olds manning AA guns, loading the main batteries and even firing up the boilers. Young, brave men who would live and die as members- no, _parts_ of the ships themselves.

In the time of his musings, the multitude of desks had filled up nicely, with the students chattering animatedly as to what this 'Extra Credit' class was.

Raphael glanced down at his holographic watch. _'Nearly 1600'_, he thought, opening his tablet and pulling up the first lesson outline. With a nod to his Promised ships, he said, "It's nearly time to start, then."

Moving forward to the teacher's pulpit, he cleared his throat. Instantly, several dozen sets of eyes were upon him, some curious at the new face, some disdainful, but all were silent. That was until a mopey looking blond stood up with a not-so-masculine yelp.

"H-hey!"

As students- 'children', as Ozpin had called them- were prone to be, the ones near him were laughing, and not in a friendly manner. The young man turned around, reaching for something on his back.

There, seen even in the low lighting, was a sticky note that read "Kick Me!"

Much to the Admiral's annoyance, he knew he couldn't do anything to help the young man- not yet, at least. He and his Girls were unknown and still needed to earn the respect of the students. That would eventually change with time but until then…

The harsh glares of his Promised would have to do.

Hood cleared her throat, sending a glare towards the children laughing at the blond, then stood aside for her Admiral.

"I want to thank you for sparing the time to meet here. This class will provide you with the historical, tactical, and strategic knowledge of Azur Lane- the organization I am a part of. For _some_ among you, I know that this will simply provide you with sorely needed extra credit to boost your grades."

Several chuckles resounded throughout the classroom, including from the Headmaster.

"Officially on your class schedules, this course is titled '_Strategic Critical Thinking and Overall Development_'."

A hand was raised by a young Huntress, dressed in silver with white hair and blue eyes to match. Raphael immediately called on her.

"Yes, how may I help you, young miss?"

The girl- with a wickedly thin scar over her left eye, the Admiral noted- stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, Sir. I'm Weiss, Weiss Schnee from Atlas."

He did indeed recognize the name. It's hard not to know the Heiress of one of the most powerful Corporations in the world- not unlike Azur Lane was back 'home', although for different reasons.

'_Her name literally means Snow White in Ironblood's language. Interesting.'_

Behind him, Tirpitz started choking but quickly recovered with a cough.

"I was just wondering, what exactly is 'Azur Lane', a Private Military Organization? And secondly, while I can _definitely_ see that you are of military standing, how would that help us become better Huntsmen and Huntresses, who specialize in using Aura?"

Raphael made a quick mental note to see about getting her paired up with Tirpitz, or perhaps even Belfast, at a later date. The girl was very perceptive.

"Those are _excellent_ questions, Ms. Schnee, and something that will be better explained in our lesson. These will be taken care of, so for you and the rest of the class, any extra-curricular questions will be answered _after_ the lesson... If that will be all, let us begin."

He moved to sit down next to Ozpin and his associates, in case the Headmaster had anything to say.

The 'Archangel' nodded to Z23, the 'technician', and the room's ambient lighting went out completely. In the center 'stage', a holoprojector- something that was delightfully new to the Admiral- flickered into the form of Azur Lane's logo.

What followed was an impressive display of technological advancements, all of which made Raphael wish he had it back 'home', if even for the sake of cinematic intensity.

A large holographic model of a warship was emitted. Slowly, it rotated, emitting a crimson glow over the room. Then, an rather young- _yet firm, and with a dry sense of humor_\- woman's voice sounded.

"**Welcome, students. In this first day of class, we will be going over one of the earliest lessons that we have decided would be most beneficial to your studies. Let us begin with the Nation of Ironblood's special warship, **_**Admiral Graf Spee**_**."**

Sitting next to her team, Yang Xiao Long yawned, "This is gonna be a boring one. Also, that's kind of a weird name isn't it?"

"Yang!" Weiss scolded, "Don't be disrespectful!"

The brawler just shrugged, resorting to studying the rest of her friends in boredom. Ren was taking notes, Nora was already snoring and Juane... was watching the holograph with intent, interested in the subject matter. Or was just the flashy looks of the ship? Pyrrha, sitting next to him, couldn't quite tell.

"_**Admiral Graf Spee**_** was launched in June, 1934, a mere handful of years before the Second World War broke out. According to the Ironblood High Command, she was listed as a 'Panzerschiff', or literally 'Armored Ship'."  
**

The hologram side-scrolled along the decks and hull of the warship, highlighting and listing weaponry, armor belts, and key areas as it went.

"**The Royal Navy, the lead seagoing power- and Ironblood's rivals- referred to her as a pocket battleship. Possibly for good reason, as she was armed with two triple turrets of **_**eleven**_** inch guns. These six naval rifles were powerful enough to knock out her cruiser competition, while keeping the ship fast enough to evade true battleships."**

"Ahhh that's so cool!" Ruby began to jump up and down in her seat, eyes sparkling in her 'Weapon Enthusiast mode'. "Compared to those of, say, General Ironwoods fleet, that's _extremely _well armed for a cruiser! Concessions might have had to be made to keep the crui-"

"""RUBY!""" Her team called as one, fully aware of how far Ruby Rose could take this sort of topic- not even Blake, the most stoic of the team, could handle it for more than a few minutes.

Raphael couldn't help but snort in amusement.

"**According to Ironblood, Her design was well within the limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles as being no more than 10,000 tons- **_**something to be covered later, Miss Schnee**_**."**

The class startled, realizing that this was very much an interactive lesson, possibly even live. A mere recording wouldn't be able to predict Weiss Schnee's raised hand….could it?

"**The reality was much darker for the Royal Navy. **_**Spee, **_**once fully loaded, displaced in the region of 16,000."**

"How did they get away with that?" Ren thought aloud. "If its bound by international law-"

"It seems they didn't care, for some reason. I mean, if they were building warships in the first place, war was already planned for." Jaune said, cutting him off.

This surprising insight got head nods in return, along with more than a few incredulous looks. _'The Dolt of the class saying something intelligent?_'

Even Tirpitz down below gave an appreciative nod, hearing every word the students speak.

"**Had **_**Graf Spee**_** been a Royal Navy ship, her classification most certainly would have been 'Battlecruiser'- that is, a warship with the firepower of a battleship, but lacking the armor in the name of higher speeds. In theory, she had the speed to avoid any battleships with firepower to sink her. Likewise, anything that **_**did**_** catch her would be blown out of the water with great prejudice."**

It was Blake's turn to think aloud, "In theory, that's sound. It's what I use, afterall. But," she hummed, "Did this actually work?"

Next to her, Weiss was taking intensive notes, pencil moving in rapid motions. Yang, no longer to pretend to be bored, looked over her teammate's shoulder to see that Weiss was copying the schematics and details about the ship with precision.

"It seems that these 'Ironbloods' have a drastically different philosophy of war doctrine than _your_ naval forces, General Ironwood!" Ozpin remarked, nudging the Atlesian General in the arm.

"**She had a speed of 28.5 knots, which was rather impressive for the weaponry and tonnage. Crucially, however, certain sacrifices were made in the armor department to reach this top speed."**

"Called it!" Ruby stood, loudly pointing at the hologram.

"Yes you dolt now sit down and pay attention!" Weiss scolded, pulling her friend back to her seat. She may have long given up on being the Team Leader, she _certainly_ wanted to retain her position as the most knowledgeable, if even for the sake of helping those she cared for.

"**However, she was most **_**definitely**_** not anything like a battleship, despite what the Royal Navy would have you believe. Her guns were rather small for a battleship, but even worse was that her armor was no better than her contemporary cruisers. This, while eventually leading to her downfall, was a moot point- from the start, Ironblood intended to put her in the role of a 'Commerce Raider', cutting off the Allies' extensively stretched supply lines."**

"Ah, so she didn't need armor so long as she could just hit hard!" Yang said with a grin. Beside her, Nora cheered in confirmation, poised to strike with her hammer.

"Weapons are good and all but unless you can take a hit miss Xiao Long, those weapons won't last very long" Glynda says pushing up her glasses as she watches, interested as well. "After all, this warship apparently had a downfall."

"**As such, **_**Graf Spee'**_**s commanding officer, Captain Langsdorf, was given direct orders to avoid contact with any warship, within reason. Langsdorf, an experienced sailor, took this order very seriously.'**

"**On the 11****th**** of September 1939, while transferring supplies from Auxiliary tanker **_**Altmarck**_**, one of Graf Spee's float planes spotted the Royal Navy County Class Heavy cruiser, HMS **_**Cumberland.**_** Captain Langsdorf wasted no time getting the Graf Spee Underway, and ordered the **_**Altmark**_** to disengage as well."**

"A Commander who follows order to the letter, it's quite refreshing to see." Winter said with a smile, nodding her head appreciatively

"Agreed." Ironwood, sitting next to her, hummed in agreeance. He was rather interested in the tactics of these _Ironbloods_, either to possibly integrate into his own naval forces, learn how to counter them, or perhaps even both."

"He had bigger guns, yet he ran." Cardin scowled, arms crossed. "I say he was a damned coward!" His team- '_cronies and sycophants', _Raphael called in his mind-laughed in agreeance.

"**County Class heavy cruisers had a top speed of 31.5 knots. Significantly faster than the 28.5 knots top speed that Deutschland class Heavy cruiser. However, The Graf Spee was the first Ironblood warship to be fitted with Radar, and was successfully able to avoid detection by the Cumberland, and escape into the south atlantic."**

"So he escaped detection, not an easy feat I assume?" Blake called to the admiral, who shook his head in response.

"The Royal Navy had a much more sizeable fleet than the Ironbloods at the time, but they were also spread thinly across their Empire's territories. The hard part would be _remaining_ undetected."

"**Shortly afterwards on the 26****th**** of September, Langsdorf had received the orders he was waiting for, attacks on Allied Alliance Shipping had been authorized. Over the course of the next three months, The Graf Spee run amok in the south Atlantic, sinking thousands and thousands of tons of allied merchant shipping, while continuously avoiding detection and confrontation with allied warships."**

"**Langsdorf, however, was not a bloodthirsty man. He took great pains to ensure the crews of the sinking ships made it to lifeboats before firing. Often, **_**Graf Spee **_**would also send distress signals on their behalf, to ensure their rescue."**

"While true World War may never be a gentleman's occasion, it is good to see such gestures of goodwill in a soldier." Ozpin said, swirling his coffee mug as he watched on.

"Agreed, such a man would be high in the ranks of the Atlesian military." Ironwood said, wishing he could meet this man personally.

"**Eight separate task forces were detailed to the area south atlantic, in an effort to find and sink this Ironblood commerce raider. Eventually, it was Force G under Commodore Harwood that would eventually make contact with the Ironblood Raider. Now, Force G sounds like an impressive title but it only consisted of the two cruisers, **_**Cumberland**_** and **_**Exeter**_**, though they were reinforced by two light cruisers, **_**Ajax**_** and the **_**Achilles**_**."**

"**However, in a desperate move to cover more area, Harwood split his force, they sent the Cumberland to patrol the area around the Falklands. Which left the **_**Exeter**_**, **_**Ajax**_** and **_**Achilles**_** to patrolling the area of the River Platte Estuary off the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay."**

A large map unfolded, showing the topographical details of the area in three dimensions.

"**And it was here on the 13****th**** of December, 1939, where contact was finally made, with this elusive Ironblood raider."**

"Finally some action!" Yang said, lifting her head from the table. Nora, who had fallen asleep for the _second_ time, was nudged awake by Ren. The hologram shifted, depicting the labeled warships and their schematics as they hurled shells of lead and fire at each other.

"20 bucks on Spee!" Nora called aloud, standing on the table. Then, a piece of chalk hit her in the head, sent from the irate partner of Headmaster Ozpin.

"Miss Valkyrie, there will be _NO_ gambling in class!" Glynda shouted back, tapping her whip in the palm of her hand.

The narrating voice, like before, waited for them to finish. With a trace of humor, it resumed.

"**At 0552 on the morning of the 13****th**** of December, Graf Spee identified the Royal Navy Yorck class heavy cruiser, HMS **_**Exeter**_**. Captain Langsdorf, unable to break contact, ordered his ship to battlestations, and turned to engage the Royal Navy ships. Soon after, **_**Exeter**_** spotted the Graf Spee; Commodore Harwood immediately ordered his ships to split up- this way, they could divide the powerful but limited firepower of **_**Graf Spee**_**'s 11 inch guns."**

"A good start, though that's a risky move. Splitting up would also allow _Spee_ to pick them off- should a Royal Navy ship sink, the rescue time of her sailors would be a valuable opportunity for the _Ironblood_ warship to escape. "

"I agree, Sir." commented Winter, "There were certainly merits to staying together as well."

The cool voice continued.

"_**Exeter**_**, the first target of **_**Graf Spee'**_**s guns, was hit three times by the 11" guns, destroying her bridge, aircraft catapult, two of her three gun turrets, and starting several fires. Seeing this, Harwood ordered the **_**Ajax**_** and **_**Achilles**_** to move in, diverting fire away from the badly wounded **_**Exeter**_**."**

"Oh no!" Ruby gasped, watching the scene of fire and lead play out in horror. "That's terrible!"

"But the others helped saver the day, right? That's the difference between fighting alone and fighting with friends. Your friends have your back!" Yang says with a cheesy grin as she watches on.

"**Langsdorf, thinking the two light cruisers were closing in to make torpedo attacks, laid a smoke screen and turned away. The Exeter then rejoined the fight, firing from her rear gun turret but was hit again and began to take on water and was once again forced to turn away."**

"Oh cmon, he was kicking their asses, he should've finished the fight!" Cardin huffed, not realizing that he was actually paying attention in class."

"Winning battles isn't just killing your enemy Mr. Winchester." Ozpin said to him, taking another handful of popcorn that he had made beforehand. "Of course, you'll realize this at some point." He muttered.

"**At 0725, the **_**Ajax**_** was hit, knocking out her two aft turrets, but at this point, both sides broke off contact. The **_**Graf Spee**_** retreated into the Estuary of the River Plate while the bruised and battered Royal Navy Force remained at the mouth of the Estuary; this was to ensure she couldn't slip away undetected."**

"So they risked their lives by trapping the enemy," Weiss spoke, "even though they could die, all to communicate the position. That….is very brave."

Jaune nodded, taking intensive notes of his own. Winter also gave a slight smile for her sister in approval.

"**The Graf Spee had been hit over seventy times over the course of the battle, and while most of the damage was superficial, some of it was significant. Her oil purification plant which was used to prepare fuel for her diesel engines," **The hologram showed section of the battered warship, along with the projected damage,** "was completely destroyed. All of the galleys aside from the Admirals Galley have been knocked out. Water was leaking into her flower storage, meaning she couldn't make bread- this, in addition to her disabled desalination plant, meant the ship was unable to make neither food or fresh water."**

"Unable to prepare food or water...a logistical nightmare." Ironwood frowned, putting a gloved fist to rest his chin in a thinking pose. "At this point, even _I_ would have very few choices… hmmm."

It was Glynda who added to this, "_Spee_ being unable to leave, the Royal Navy too damaged to continue conflict...truly an impasse they had."

"**As well as this, the ship had taken a hit to the bow, wrecking her foaxal-" **At this point the hologram shifted to the damaged 'front' of the ship, where a gaping hole sat,** "Making her dangerously unseaworthy in bad weather." **Once more, it shifted, now depicting the Atlantic side of the world globe.** "Now, December in the southern Atlantic is actually the middle of summer, and that's really not an issue, but December in the northern Atlantic consists of extremely violent winter storms."**

The video paused, and Raphael stood in front of the class. "Students, can any of you tell me _why_ the Ironblood warship would need to go back to their home ports, even in the middle of winter storms?"

He, his shipgirls, and the teaching staff of Beacon all leaned in, eager to see if any students could figure it out- Winter and Ironwood had long since seen where this was going.

"Well," Weiss stood, wanting to gain approval, "they needed to repair, but were lacking the parts required, and had no friendly ports to manufacture them in?"

"That's one reason, and a good one at that, but anyone else have a clue?" Tirpitz spoke for the first time since the lesson began.

All around the darkened room students whispered to each other in their teams, eagerly seeking the answer.

"Ammo!" Someone called out, leaping to their feet.

Much to Weiss' consternation, it was Ruby, standing and pointing her finger down at the Admiral. Weiss then grabbed the "Red Reaper's" finger and sat her back down.

Not giving the girl time to think, Tirpitz immediately shot back. "And _why_, Miss Rose?"

Ruby only paused for a moment before answering.

"She had been fighting for a while now against both the Royal warships _and_ other ships before. Her ammunition would be nearing dangerous levels, right?"

Raphael was satisfied. _'This young girl is very good indeed. Young, but sharp, just as I was when I first took command in Azur Lane. Just as I _had_ to be.'_

The holographic video resumed.

"**The ship was dangerously low on ammunition for its main battery guns. A return to Ironblood waters was necessary. This coupled with the indirect hostility of Uruguay, the port they were currently residing in."**

"**Now, in times of war, international law provided that a neutral country's port may host a warship for three days. 72 hours was **_**far**_** below the amount of time that Langsdorf needed to repair his ship, and he was running out of time. While he was technically in a neutral country, he knew that officials of Uruguay would gladly intern his ship- as allowed by international law- and hand her over to the Royal Navy."**

The voice, previously calm and soothing, sounded emotional.

"**Langsdorf, the wonderful soldier he was, would not allow that to happen."**

An image of a man in full naval dress appeared, smiling slightly at the students, before it returned to the zoomed in map of River Platte.

"**Langsdorf received orders from Berlin, giving him an ultimatum of two choices: scuttle his ship in the harbor of Montevideo, or break out and make for Argentina. Much more 'neutral' than Uruguay, Argentina would intern their ship but hopefully refrain from handing his ship over to the Royal Navy."**

The students around the room were nodding, lost in thought.

Fight your way out and only _possibly_ avoid handing information to the enemy, or sink your vessel, protecting it's secrets in a watery grave.

Something that would have any good commander, even General Ironwood himself, breaking into a cold sweat.

"**A break out was entirely feasible. The Graf Spee was more than a match for the Ajax, Achilles and Exeter. Now, the Aircraft Carrier HMS **_**Ark Royal**_** and the battlecruiser HMS **_**Renown**_** had been diverted to the area to assist- but they were still over two and a half thousand nautical miles away. All too aware of this, the Royal Navy launched a daring move in intelligence warfare. Afterall, there was no possible way for **_**Graf Spee**_** to know about this. Traffic signals on major frequencies known to the Ironbloods were used to create a fake buildup of massively powerful reinforcements. The trap was set, and Langsdorf fell for it.**

"Intelligence and counterintelligence are always important for the war effort. In this case, it seems the Ironbloods were simply at a massive disadvantage, seeing as the Royal Navy manipulated their channels just to get at _Graf Spee_." Ren asked. "At this point, why couldn't they just call for help?"

"I think her allies were too far away to come and help. " Blake replied, looking up from her notebook.

"**On the 18****th**** of December, 1939 the ship- manned only by her Captain and 40 skeleton crew members, sailed to the outermost section of the harbor. There, they set scuttling charges, leaving the ship to her fate as they were picked up by a tug boat."**

Several of the females in the class were crying, at this point. Ruby, taking it to a higher level, was silently sobbing into Weiss' shoulder- the Schnee heiress let her do so with sad frown of her own, though she would vehemently deny all of this later.

Even Cardin and his cronies were upset.

They watched as the tug sailed away, Ironblood sailors giving one last salute as the Pocket Battleship _Graf Spee_ detonated in several fantastic explosions.

"**For two days, **_**Spee **_**would burn in those shallow waters, alone, and thousands of miles from her home port." **The voice wavered, pausing the image on the magnificent explosions, **"When the fires stopped those two days afterwards, Captain Hans Langsdorf would be found dead in his hotel room, dressed in full military dress uniform- and with a fatal, self inflicted bullet wound."**

"**Spee's crew would be interned by Argentina for the six remaining years of the war, but they would forever stand as a testament to the sheer bravery, honor, and courage of the Panzerschiff **_**Graf Spee**_**."**

There were a few gasps upon hearing that such a great man had taken his own life, especially one such as the captain. Ironwood himself lowered his head, wondering what must have gone through that man's head before commiting suicide. He felt he had a pretty accurate guess.

"So he… killed himself because he failed?" Ruby asked quietly. All of the students were silent, hesitant to speak which got a nod from the others as well as the Admiral himself.

The red hologram shifted back to a blue 'Azur Lane' logo. Raphael, taking that as his que, stood at the center podium once more.

"Thank you, young Huntsmen and Huntresses in training, for taking the time to learn from me and my organisation, from my own home's rich history. I hope that this _introductory_ lesson was enough to convince you to attend once more. Class will be held at this time once a week."

He sat down, letting the students shake themselves out of the daze. Tirpitz and Hood moved beside him, calling out to the students.

"In order to receive credit for this class session, you are to submit a small response paper concerning how _you_ all would have acted, had you been in either Ironblood's or the Royal Navy's position. State it clearly, and write _at least_ two pages on _why_ you would do so, and compare it to what happened in real life. Should you wish to take it further, merely contemplate how this lesson can help _you_, as future Huntsmen and Huntresses." 

Hood bowed, "Thank you, you are dismissed for the evening!"

As the students filed out in hushed, yet animated whispers, Raphael heard the tapping of a cane behind him.

"So...do you think that these children are able to wage a war, Admiral Raphael Martinez of Azur Lane?"

The Archangel shook his head in response to the Headmaster. "No… not now, but that's what we came here for. That's all we can hope."

He and his shipgirls walked out without another word.

There's more work to do, after all.

(Chapter End- Line Break)

**Editor's Note: Hello, CabooseHelpsU here. I was kindly asked to beta read this story (The circumstances behind it was rather a twist of unlikely fate, but it boils down to me happening to be on Discord at the right time on the right server, and feeling in the mood to help a fellow writer asking for feedback). Boy, this is a real treat to help with, despite the fact that I do indeed have other stories to work on, as a Beta **_**and**_** a personal writer.**

**I don't regret it though.**

**I'd like to clarify things: Let's start with a definition.**

**Promised- A shipgirl from the game of Azur Lane that Admiral Raphael Martinez, given a title of 'Archangel', has Oathed/married. Promised simply sounds better than 'Wives', although...Waifu was certainly up there, XD**

**Secondly, this is, indeed, a part 'Reaction Story'. Videos from IRL (Pertaining mostly to shipgirls, of course) will be taken- modified to fit the bill- and shown to characters in the RWBY Universe. In this case, it was Jingle's Graf Spee video from Youtube. Again, we modified it to fit the speech of the narrator….well, you'll find out who **_**she**_** is later.**

**On a side note, I'm rather surprised we havn't had any movies on the Hunt for Graf Spee recently. Imagine how epic we could make it with today's modern CGI, but nope. 'Dogfights: The Hunt for Bismarck' will have to make do for now, despite it's age.**

**Lastly, the more astute among you readers might be asking this question, as I did- '**_**How**_** did members of Azur Lane get to the RWBY universe, and why are the RWBY characters like Ozpin taking it so well? ****What About Everything During And After Season Three****?!'**

**The answers will be revealed later as well. **

**We will do our best to avoid OOC-ness, although that can't be helped much. We intend to have deep coverage of both the background for RWBY **_**and**_** our version of Azur Lane, including Raphael.**

**And yes, we intend to very much follow canon events- even the Fall of Beacon. (Personally, too many stories that try to get rid of that particularly unpleasant event end up failing).**

…

**That giant note is rather typical for me, but hopefully that's alright. Oh, chapter one is due for a Retrofit, **_**very**_** soon.**

**Be sure to review, please~**

**Caboose out.**


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